nasal irrigation, anyone?

There was an episode of The Office back in its first or second season where the staff does a white elephant gift exchange. Jim picks Pam's name out of a hat and buys her a teapot, because he knows she likes tea. Dwight ends up with it and thinks it is a neti pot. He proceeds to stick it in his nose as if he's going to irrigate his nasal passages and Jim gets grossed out. That was the first time I had ever heard of anything like that. Wait, you can flush your nasal cavity? Who DOES that? Is it safe?

Fast forward to today. I went to the doctor's because I have been battling allergies for the past few months. It's been so strange because I have never been allergic to anything. But in July I started having stuffy/runny nose issues along with crazy sneeze attacks. I thought it would go away, but it didn't. It's gotten really bad lately. I am having a hard time sleeping because I can't breathe well out of my nose. My doctor asked me tons of questions:

- Are you allergic to anything, that you know of? (no)
- Does your family have a history of allergies? (no)
- Do you have a pet? (well, we HAD a cat but it moved out in July...just when my allergies started up, weird.)
- Do you have carpet or hardwood floors in your house? (carpet)
- Do you sleep with any feathered pillows or blankets? (yes, a down blanket)
- Have you tried using Claritin or the generic brand of that? (yes, it's not really helping)

My doctor thinks it could be one or more of the following:

1) pet allergies (when we deep-cleaned the carpets after the cat moved out, we could have stirred up some stuff into the air)
2) dust mites in our carpet (*puke*)
3) local pollens that come out this time of year
4) mold in our house?

I am going to get blood work done (if my insurance covers it) so I can find out what exactly I'm allergic to. Until then, I'm to use a nasal spray, not sleep with my down comforter, rip up the carpet in my room if possible (it's not)....and use a neti pot.

I bought one and read the directions when I got home. You mix a saline solution with lukewarm water and stick it in the pot. Then you lean over your sink and stick the pot in one nostril. While breathing out of your mouth, you turn your head to the side and the liquid goes up, around, and then down your other nostril. Whaaaaat??

It was the weirdest sensation feeling the water go up my nostril and then trickle out the other one (It's similar to that feeling you get in the swimming pool when you get water up your nose). And I kept forgetting to breathe through my mouth. Every time I forgot to do that, the salty solution would trickle down my throat and I'd have to spit it out.

Would I recommend the neti pot? YES. It feels like it really does clear out your passages. You can buy them at any Walgreens/Longs/CVS/Rite Aid for $10-20.